Wound clip loader package



Aug. 14, 1956 J. w. WHITE 2,758,302

WOUND CLIP LOADER PACKAGE Filed Oct. 15, 1952 IN V EN TOR. I

Joy/v 14 WH/TE g $2 M fag 4122?;- v41: m 9/5 WouNn our LOADER PACKAGE John W. White, North Hollywood, Calif., assignor to Technical Oil Tool Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application October 13, 1952, Serial No. 314,499

2 Claims. (Cl. 156) My invention relates generally to wound clips for closing incisions or lacerations in the flesh, and more particularly to an improved loader package of clips for use in an applicator. This application is a continuation in-part of my co-pending application Serial No. 278,221, filed March 24, 1952, for Wound Clip and Applicator. The clips disclosed herein are designed for use with the magazine-type applicator of my aforesaid co-pending application, and reference is made thereto for a complete description of the applicator structure, the clips per se being the subject of a divisional application, Serial No. 448,574, filed August 9, 1954, of this application to which reference is also made.

At the present time, wound clips are generally designed with a single tooth or prong on each end to engage the flesh aside the incision as the clip is collapsed inwardly. These clips are of uniform and relatively narrow width, and have an edge profile characterized by a substantially flat central portion. The accepted surgical tool for applying clips is a pair of tweezers or forceps in which the clips are grasped one at a time and applied. The procedure involved is at best slow, and because of the nature of the clips the resulting closure is imperfect.

My improved wound clip is of approximately double width of a conventional clip and has a central elongated slot therein as well as being provided with a double tooth or prong at each end.

These clips which may be stacked or nested together in front-to-back relationship with the prongs of one clip engaged in a complemental opening provided by the formation of the prongs on an adjacent clip. Thus, a stack of clips forms a relatively rigid unit of minimum size with the clips supporting each other to prevent premature collapse. In order that a unit of clips may be easily handled, I also provide a clip holder or rack which assembles a plurality of clips together as a stacked unit. The clip rack cooperatively engages with the clips in such a manner that the unit may be inserted in the applicator and the rack thereafter withdrawn, leaving the clips properly positioned. Likewise, a group of clips left in the applicator may be taken out as a unit by the re-insertion of the rack. This is, of course, convenient and also facilitates clip counting to greatly decrease the chance of clips being left in the wound.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a major object of my invention to provide a loader package of wound clips wherein the clips are held together for loading into an applicator as a unit.

An additional object of my invention is to provide clips adapted to nest or stack together in a minimum amount of space and in mutually supporting relationship.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a clip holder or rack adapted to assemble a group of clips in a stacked unit which can be easily inserted in an applicator or withdrawn therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a loader package wherein the stack of clips are held in rigid alignment by an internal rack so that the package may be States Patent moved slidably into position within the applicator body.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a loader rack which is spring-urged outwardly for engagement with a stack of clips and is yieldable for removal therefrom.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred form thereof and from an inspection of the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an applicator showing a stack of clips and the clip rack being inserted therein;

Fig. 2 is a detail of the applicator head showing the clip rack preparatory to being inserted therein for removing a group of clips;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a unit of Wound clips shown stacked together and secured in place on a rack;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail showing the nesting relationship of the clips in the stack and the position of the clip rack;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the preferred form of clip;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged front elevation of the clip in open position;

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the clip in completely closed position showing the intermeshing of the holding prongs.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, it is necessary to describe briefly a preferred embodiment of the applicator in order to appreciate the functioning of the wound clips and the clip rack. For a complete description of the applicator, reference is made to my aforesaid co-pending application. The body of the applicator is indicated generally by the numeral 30 and is of elongated rectangular shape internally open to take a stack of wound clips 31 therein. Clips 31 are of fiat dished shape having opposed end prongs, and are stacked front-to-back along housing 39 so that the front or leading clip is held at the head of the applicator in applying position. The clips 31 are made of easily deformed material permitting the central portion of the clip to yield or bend when pressure is applied to the ends, and thus draw the prongs together in the flesh for closing the wound or incision. The position assumed by the closed clip 31 upon the flesh is seen in Fig. 8. Y

In order to close clips 31 a pair of opposed forceps or tweezer arms 32 are secured to the sides of housing 30 and mounted for inward flexing movement. Arms 32 carry inturned forward jaw portions 33 which bracket the ends of the leading clip 31 and are adapted to clamp or squeeze thereagainst to close the clip as the arms are pressed together in the hand. As clip 31 is closed or clinched, it is released through a forwardly open applicator head 35 and left properly positioned on the wound. Forcep arms 32 are then allowed to spring outwardly, retracting jaws 33. This permits the stack of clips 31 to slide forwardly in housing 30 and position a succeeding clip in applying position for another cycle of operation.

The stack of clips 31 is urged forwardly in housing 30 by a plunger or follower block 36 which is connected to a spring means 37. As is seen in Fig. 1, a stack of clips is just being inserted forwardly in housing 30 to be followed in turn by plunger 36 and spring 37. When positioned Within housing 30 the rear end of spring 37 bears against a pivoted gate 38 mounted at the rear of central portion 40. Preferably, clips 31 are stamped from a thin sheet of deformable and'nomseptic material such as nickel silver. The end portion of clips 31 are turned rearwardly to forn1 jaw-engagingxnds 41 which. define with the body of the cliprearwardly open notches. or

grooves 42that are'us'edin releasing the clips from the closed-position; The front portions of jaw-engaging ends provide a smooth'bearing'surface for seating against the skin when the clip is engaged in the flesh, While the rear portions initially'serve as stopsor spacers to insure. proper nestingof clips'31 whenstacked together.

Clips 31 are made approximately twice as wide as the conventional clip of the same length'in order to provide sufficient material' forthe formationof double prongs or teeth at each end; The use'of' a double prong combined with the greater bearing surface of "the wider ends 41 makes a much firmerengagement in the flesh aside the wound than in the case with a conventional clip, and accordingly holds the clipsagainst rocking from side to side and tearing the flesh. Also, the greater holding power of clips 31 makesfeasible the use of fewer clips at greater spacing, and the time needed for application and removal of the clips is reduced as well as providing a cleaner healed wound.

For engagement in the flesh, both clip ends 41 are provided with upper and lower prongs -43 of sharp triangular shape outstruck from the clip body to project forwardly. Prongs' 43'extend convergently forwardly and form opposed pairs with the corresponding prongs at the opposite end of the clip. By striking prongs 43 from the body of the clip, a small complemental triangular opening 44 is defined in the wall of the clip extending inwardly from'the base ofthe prong, as is best seen in Fig. 6. When clips 31 are stacked together, the prongs 43 of a succeeding rear clip nest in the complemental openings 44 of a forward clip and allow the respective clip ends 41 to rest firmly upon each. other. The rearward length of ends 41 is selected so that prongs 43 project only a short distance through openings 44 and there is no danger of jamming the'clips together. However, it can be appreciated that the'engagement between prongs- 43 and openings 44 holdslthe clips from sliding endwise or twisting laterally, anda plurality of clips stacked in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is a relatively stable unit.

Preferably, I stagger prongs 43 as is best seen in Fig. 6, so that the pairs of prongs at the opposite ends of the clips are laterally offset from each other. Thus, as clip 31 is bent into the fully closed position shown in Fig. 7, the opposed prongs 43 may slide by each other without contact, and there is nodanger of the prongs being bent out of shape.

As will vbe remembered, one of the-important objects of my clip design is to provide a cliphaving a uniform yield rate so that the clip closes under a constant pressure. Closing control can therefore bemaintained and the clips may be partially closed to any desired position. To this end, I first provide an elongated opening 45 which extends along thecentral clip portion 40 and divides the latter into upper and lower connecting webs 46'of re- 6 duced sectional area. As can be understood, the relative size of opening 45 determines the size and strength of webs 46, and accordingly the pressure needed to close. the clip. As illustrated, clip 31 is designed to have 'a closing-pressureapproximately-thesame as that of a con-' ventional narrow clip.

Since the closing .pressurevis. exerted inwardly against jawengaging end :41 withlisubstantially a straight thrust, the bending moment acting; at "any seeti'on ofclip 31 increases towards thecenter of the clip and the greatest-- pressure is exerted at the center line of the clip. For this reason, conventional 'clips of uniform sectional area and-- fiatcentersectionat. first stubbornly resist bending, andthen yield orsbuckle suddenly in: asharp angular bend: atthe. center; causing=a loss :of "CIDSlHg QODUOL- I .have overcome this diiiiculty by providing; a 5611p; 31 having j a 1 sectional area which is the greatest at the center and decreases toward the 'end'of the clip. Thus, the yield re sistance of clip 31 varies intproportion to the bending moment exerted throughout the sections of the clip, and the clip closes under a uniform pressure which is easily controlled.

Preferably, I make the upper and lower edges of clip 31 parallel. and tchangetthe sectional thickness of connecting webs 46b} cutting the inner edge walls of openlug-. 45 in outwardlydivergent directions from the center o-f-tne opening. Webs 46 thus:haveathe greatest thickness at the center and taper outwardly toward the end in proportion to .the distance from the bend axis. To

overcome the initial resistance of the clip to any bending,

I pre-form webs 46iinto' airearwardly-bowed curvature as shown in Fig. 5 rather than with the conventional fiat central portion. These changes in the sectional area of webs 46 and the edge profile thereof, are made by engineering-calculations and tests -sothat the resultant structure has the desired uniform resistance to closingfor any particular size and style of clips.

Forthe purpose of securing a group of clips 31in a package of convenient size, [have provided a loader" rack'50"which extends through'a number of clips and holds themagainst separation: While rack means 50 is" not essential, its use'is very advantageous for storage of the clips,'for maintaining'a numerical count thereof, for sterilizationof-the: clip,- and finally for facilitating the insertionand removalof a group of clips from the applicator: The-size ofi'ack-means 50is variable, and I have chosen to illustrate a rack which holds 20 clips, this being" a practical number for insertion inan applicator of convenient hand size.

Rack 'means S0 is formed as a generally U-shaped spring rod having generally parallel side legs 51 connected by a fianged or outwardly projecting enlarged head 52.

The free endof legs 51- are bent arcuately to provideoutwardly projecting flanges -53 of clip shape. Flanges 53 are-spaced apar-t sufiiciently-so that legs 51 may be pressed together to pull the flanges inwardly for passing through the central opening-.45 in a stack of clips 31.' After legs 51 have been passed rearwardly through a-stack of clips 31, they are released and flanges53 spring apartto bearagainsttherear'surface of the lastclip in the stack. The length of legs 51 is just equal to the'length ing'30, but'in fact facilitates it, since the clips are held in a rigid elongated unit After the loader-package has I been inserted inthe housing, plunger 36 and feed spring 37 are slidably entered into the housing and gate 38is closed.' The stack of clipsis now at the head of the applicator, and rack head 52 projects-forwardly (down-- wardly asseenzin Figure 2) through the opening in applicatorhead-SS. Head LSZ-is then pulled forwardly" to squeezexlegs 51 inwardly, sorthat flanges53 are-free to pass forwardly through the clip openings 45, and the rack is Withdraw-n forwardly out of the applicator.

Rack50 also'cornesinto play-inremoving theclips 31: remaining in'the applicator after its use has been" completed: As is indicated'in'F-ig. 2, rack 50 is passed through 'applicator"head"35 to enter within'the clip-31.

Flanged'ends 53 "are initially pressed together, and after rack legsv 51 have passed-.throughlall of the remain ing,.clips.:31,'..pressure is rele'asedto allow the flanged ends to. spring outwardly; beyond...the. .la'st clip in the.

As is best seen in Fig. 1, it

Because of the internal" stack. Thereafter, the stack of clips 31 is removed through the back of housing with rack 50 in place so as to hold the clips together as a unit.

Having thus considered the specific nature of clips 31, the operation by which the clips are applied may be appreciated. Applicator housing 30 is held adjacent to the wound with head extended across generally perpendicular to the length of the wound. As forceps 32 are pressed inwardly, jaws 33 engage the clip ends 41 and apply inward pressure tending to force the ends together. This inward movement of the clip ends 41 causes the central clip portion to bend or buckle into a short radius turn so that the clip ends extend generally parallel to each other. During the closing of the clip, the flesh aside the wound is engaged by prongs 43 and is drawn together closing the wound.

While I have thus described in detail my improved wound clip and loader package, it can be understood that changes in design and construction may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from my invention. Therefore, I do not wish to be restricted to the foregoing description except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A loader-package of wound clips for a magazine type wound clip applicator comprising: a plurality of identical wound clips of given overall length each comprising a relatively narrow strap of given breadth terminating in upwardly curved end portions and having an elongated narrow central opening in said strap between said end portions, said plurality of clips being stacked one upon the other in aligned back to front relation in a stack of given height having a width and depth equal to said given length and breadth respectively; and a removable loader rack intercngaging said plurality of clips and disengageably holding said clips in said stacked aligned relation, said rack comprising a pair of substantially parallel legs spaced a distance substantially less than said given length and having a length corresponding to said height, the upper ends of said legs terminating in outwardly projecting stops, the lower ends of said legs extending outwardly and being interconnected by a head, and the head portion at least of said rack being formed of resilient material and normally urging said legs outwardly relative to each other, said legs extending through said openings in said stacked clips with said stops disposed above the uppermost one of said clips and with said head disposed below the lowermost one of said clips, said legs being resiliently urged into engagement with the ends of said openings and cooperating therewith to maintain said aligned relation and said head and stops coacting to maintain said stacked relation, the width of said rack at said head and stops being substantially less than said given length and wholly contained within said given length, the resilience of said rack permitting the upper ends of said legs to be moved inwardly sufiiciently to pass through said openings to permit said rack to be downwardly removed from said stack and upwardly inserted into said stack.

2. In a loader-package of wound clips for a wound clip applicator including a clip-receiving magazine of rectangular cross section open at both ends, the combination of: a plurality of identical wound clips of given overall length each comprising a relatively narrow strap of given breadth terminating in upwardly -curved end portions, said clips being rectangular in plan for re ception in said magazine and having an opening in said strap between said end portions, each of said clips having downwardly projecting prongs near said end portions, said plurality of clips being stacked with said prongs projecting downwardly and one upon the other in aligned back to front relation in a stack of given height having a width and depth equal to said given length and breadth respectively; and a removable loader rack interengaging said plurailty of clips and disengageably holding said clips in said stacked aligned relation, said rack comprising a pair of substantially parallel legs spaced a distance substantially less than said given length and having a length corresponding to said height, the upper ends of said legs terminating in outwardly projecting stops, and the lower ends of said legs extending outwardly and being interconnected by a head, said legs extending through said openings in said stacked clips with said stops disposed above the uppermost one of said clips and with said head disposed below the lowermost one of said clips, said legs and said openings cooperating to maintain said aligned relation and said head and stops coacting to maintain said stacked relation, the width of said rack at said head and stops being substantially less than said given length and wholly contained within said given length, said rack being downwardly removable from said stack, whereby said loaderpackage may be inserted lower end foremost into the upper end of said magazine and whereby said rack may be removed downwardly from said stack through the lower end of said magazine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 715,612 Van Schott Dec. 9, 1902 733,723 Lukens July 1-4, 1903 1,590,172 Thorberg June 22, 1926 1,880,569 Weis Oct. 4, 1932 2,203,412 Hill June 4, 1940 2,232,142 Schumann Feb. 18, 1941 2,237,589 Dole Apr. 8, 1941 2,254,620 Miller Sept. 2, 1941 2,307,384 Bowen Jan. 5, 1943 2,317,815 Schumann Apr. 27, 1943 2,343,921 Nyberg Mar. 14, 1944 2,470,726 Schafroth May 17, 1949 2,577,012 Hinckley Dec. 4, 1951 2,624,880 Lind Jan. 13, 1953 

